Why it works: Sugar and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Blackberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Make the jam
Combine blackberries and sugar in a pot.
Boil for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
If desired, add lemon juice to enhance flavor.
Store
Cover the jam and store it in a dry, cool place.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Blackberries
- Supply the fruit, flavor, and body that the jam is built on.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness, and as it concentrates it helps the jam thicken and keep.
The step that matters
Boil for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sugar and fruit pectin must concentrate to the gel point to set. Stopping too early leaves the jam runny, while boiling too long over-thickens it and dulls the fresh fruit flavor. Stirring prevents scorching on the bottom of the pot.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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